The present invention relates generally to support arms, and more particularly to a support arm for a keyboard tray.
The use of personal computers is widespread both at the office and at home. Such widespread use of personal computers has presented challenges to furniture and furniture accessory designers and manufacturers. A primary challenge is that office and office type furniture must be adapted to meet the requirements imposed by such computer systems.
Computer systems require room for display monitors, computer units, and computer keyboards. Display monitors are often placed on a desktop surface. Likewise, computer units are often placed about the desk on the floor or in some other position. Computer keyboards, however, often pose special problems. Preferably, a keyboard is located slightly in front of a display monitor so that a user may easily type on the keyboard while examining the monitor. Thus, users often place keyboards on desk tops directly in front of a monitor. Placing the keyboard on the desktop, however, is often troublesome. Such placement of the keyboard takes up valuable desk space which the user may at times require for other purposes. In addition, desktops are often slightly higher than the height at which ergonomic typing preferably occurs.
Extendably mounting the keyboard underneath a desktop surface, therefore, is often done. Mounting the keyboard under the desktop frees up valuable desk space, as well as positions the keyboard at a height more conducive for typing. Unfortunately, many keyboard trays extend significantly below the desktop such that the keyboard and a tray holding the keyboard reduce the knee space available for a user. Further, easy yet simple methods of positioning many keyboards, both in terms of amount of extension and of angle of inclination of the keyboard, are often lacking.
The present invention therefore provides an articulating keyboard tray support arm. In one embodiment, a keyboard tray support device comprises a bracket adapted for mounting to an underside of a desktop. An arm comprised of a plurality of links has a first end coupled to the bracket and a second end coupled to a keyboard tray. The arm is comprised of a plurality of links. The keyboard tray support device includes means to increase the friction between adjacent links so as to substantially fix position of adjacent links with respect to each other.
In one embodiment means to increase friction between adjacent links is a cable coupled to a first link at a first point and a second link at a second point, with means to increase the distance between the first point and the second point. In one embodiment this means is a camming mechanism.
In one embodiment an articulating keyboard support includes adjacent links forming an articulating arm wherein adjacent links in the series of links may be moved in directions independent of the direction and movement of other links in the series.
In yet further embodiments the keyboard tray support device is mounted using slides to an underside of a desktop surface, thereby allowing the keyboard arm to be moved with respect to the underside of the desk surface. In addition in a further embodiment the mounting to the slides is done in a rotatable manner such that the articulating arm may be rotated with respect to the slides.
Many of the attendant features of this invention will be more readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which like reference symbols designate like parts throughout.